Ngāti Rangitihi is a

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...

iwi Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori roughly means "people" or "nation", and is often translated as "tribe", or "a confederation of tribes". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, an ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

, located in the

Bay of Plenty The Bay of Plenty ( mi, Te Moana-a-Toi) is a region of New Zealand, situated around a bight of the same name in the northern coast of the North Island. The bight stretches 260 km from the Coromandel Peninsula in the west to Cape Runawa ...

. The tribe is part of the greater

Te Arawa Te Arawa is a confederation of Māori iwi and hapu (tribes and sub-tribes) of New Zealand who trace their ancestry to the Arawa migration canoe (''waka''). The recognised rohe (tribal area) of Ngāti Rangitihi was submitted to the

Waitangi Tribunal The Waitangi Tribunal (Māori: ''Te Rōpū Whakamana i te Tiriti o Waitangi'') is a New Zealand permanent commission of inquiry established under the Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975. It is charged with investigating and making recommendations on cla ...

in evidence during an urgent hearing in February 2002. It was not challenged by the legal Counsel for the Crown, Tuwharetoa ki Kawerau or

Ngāti Awa Ngāti Awa is a Māori iwi (tribe) centred in the eastern Bay of Plenty Region of New Zealand. It is made of 22 hapū (subtribes), with 15,258 people claiming affiliation to the iwi in 2006. The Ngāti Awa people are primarily located in towns ...

who were all present at the time. It extends from the East side of the

Tarawera River The Tarawera River is in the Bay of Plenty Region in the North Island of New Zealand. It flows from Lake Tarawera, northeastwards across the northern flanks of the active volcano Mount Tarawera, and past the town of Kawerau before turning north, ...

mouth to Otamarakau, inland to

Lake Rotoehu Lake Rotoehu is the smallest in a chain of three lakes to the northeast of Lake Rotorua in New Zealand's North Island. It is located between the city of Rotorua and town of Whakatane. The southern end of the lake occupies part of the Okataina cald ...

, through

Lake Rotoma A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much larger ...

and through

Lake Okataina A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much larger ...

and

Lake Tarawera Lake Tarawera is the largest of a series of lakes which surround the volcano Mount Tarawera in the North Island of New Zealand. Like the mountain, it lies within the Okataina caldera. It is located to the east of Rotorua, and beneath the pea ...

. South into the

Kaingaroa Forest Kaingaroa Forest covers 2900 km² of the Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand, and is the largest forest plantation in New Zealand, and the second largest in the Southern Hemisphere (after the 6000km² Sabie/Graskop plantation in South Afri ...

. East including the western third of the Matahina Block. Pokohu and

Putauaki Putauaki ( mi, Pūtauaki; also known in English as Mount Edgecumbe) is a dacite volcanic cone in the Bay of Plenty Region of New Zealand. Located 50 km east of Rotorua and three kilometres east of Kawerau, it is the easternmost vent of the ...

and out to the coast following the line of the Tarawera River.

History

Early history

Ngāti Rangitihi history is carved into the pole beside of the Rangiaohia wharenui at the Matata Pa and at Tamatekapua wharenui at

Te Papaiouru Marae Te Papaiouru is a marae at Ohinemutu, Rotorua, New Zealand. It is the home marae of the Ngāti Whakaue subtribes Ngāti Tae-o-Tū and Ngāti Tūnohopū. The marae's carved wharenui (meeting house), Tamatekapua, is named after Tama-te-kapua, the chi ...

Rotorua Rotorua () is a city in the Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand's North Island. The city lies on the southern shores of Lake Rotorua, from which it takes its name. It is the seat of the Rotorua Lakes District, a territorial authority encompass ...

, Ngāti Rangitihi is the carved figure at the top of the pole, the 8 beating hearts are below Rangitihi. Their hapu, Ngāti Mahi and Ngāti Tionga are the recognised hapu of Ngāti Rangitihi today. The Ngāti Tionga hapu has occupied (Ahika) Otamarora ( Matata) since 1700, under the chiefs Rohi, Tewhareiti, Tionga, Tangihia Tionga and Porione Tangihia. Pre-1928, carvings were green. The Whare Nui was named Tionga.

Modern history

The Tionga Marae was located on Lot 5, Arawa Street, Matata, where it was owned by members Tangihia family. In the late 1880s Ngāti Mahi renovated the Tionga marae, replacing the thatch with an iron roof and the raupo wall panels with sawn timber. In 1928 a tornado lifted the marae building up and carried it to its present location. It was renamed the Rangiaohia Whare nui and has been maintained by Ngāti Rangitihi ever since. The first and original Rangitihi house belonged to the

Ngāti Rangiwewehi Ngāti Rangiwewehi is an iwi of the Te Arawa confederation of tribes. A Ngāti Rangiwewehi kapa haka group was founded in 1968 and has published their own songs and participated in various music festivals such as Te Matatini. The tribe is a two- ...

chief Te Rangitewhata and stood at Puhirua pa on the shores of Lake Rotorua. The second belonged to Te Waata Taranui of Ngāti Pikiao and is currently in the Auckland museum. The 3rd stands at Te Taheke, on the shores of Lake Rotoiti and is in use to this day.

Media

Te Arawa FM

Te Arawa FM is the radio station of Te Arawa iwi. It was established in the early 1980s and became a charitable entity in November 1990. The station underwent a major transformation in 1993, becoming Whanau FM. One of the station's frequencies was taken over by

Mai FM Mai FM is New Zealand's largest urban contemporary radio network, promoting Māori language and culture and broadcasting hip hop and rhythm and blues. It is located in Auckland, and is available in ten markets around the country. The network targ ...

in 1998; the other became Pumanawa FM before later reverting to Te Arawa FM. It is available on in

References

External links

Official website
{{Maori-stub